Your Words Today—Seeds or Sparks?

Choose just the right words today. Words are very powerful. If I get upset and respond to someone’s comment with, “That’s stupid.” The person to whom I say those words may hear, “YOU are stupid.” Without my even knowing it, that simple word choice could destroy any possibility for me to have a relationship with that person for the rest of our lives. Some words have a more powerful and lasting effect than we intended.

Throughout this day, if you get irritated by some event or someone and you feel like shooting him or her with a harsh word-arrow, before you release the bow string, stop, take a deep breath, be quiet for a few minutes, and ask Jesus to help you choose just the right words.

The right words can be like seeds planted in someone’s heart that will later grow into something beautiful, or they can be like tiny sparks of fire. Make this the day you plant a gracious seed instead of setting a forest on fire.

God’s word says, “Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.” – James 3: 5 (NIV)